


Stars in Shadow

by worthmorethanrubies25



Series: In Our Blood [1]
Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Moana (2016), TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms
Genre: Backstory, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Darkpath Au, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Forgiveness, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, More tags to be added, Multiple Crossovers, Rating May Change, Redemption, Rescue, off-screen violence, possible trigger warnings?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2019-09-28 02:08:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17173820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worthmorethanrubies25/pseuds/worthmorethanrubies25
Summary: Based on RuneScratch’s and B1ueflame’s Darkpath AU on Tumblr.For Hiro Hamada, taking over San Fransokyo isn’t so easy when rival gangs and Tadashi-imposters are trying to stop him. However, when he is called into another world to save a childhood friend, he begins to wonder if he chose the right path.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I DO NOT own “Big Hero 6,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “Moana” or any works by J.R.R. Tolkien.
> 
> This is mostly Hiro/OC centric, but also has some Tadashi/Honey Lemon and Wasabi/Go Go in later chapters.

_**San Fransokyo**   _

Seven-year-old Hiro Hamada was surrounded by bullies. What was their problem? Yeah, he was in seventh grade while they were in sixth, but he couldn't help being smarter than them.

     "Leave him alone!"

     Everyone's head whipped around, and the speaker was the fiercest, prettiest girl Hiro had ever seen. She couldn't have been older than he was, but her creamy porcelain skin and glossy black curls made her uncommonly good-looking for her age. Also, the expression on her face made her look like a really ticked off lioness.

     "Take a hike, kid," one of the bullies sneered before turning back to Hiro.

     "I told you to back off, or else," the girl snapped.

     The older kids paused, then erupted in laughter.

     "Oh, yeah? How are you gonna stop us, brat?"

     The girl growled and hopped on one foot as she slipped off one of her shoes. "Fine! You asked for it!"

     She held up the shoe like it was a sword and charged forward with a battle cry. Hiro watched in awe as she smacked and kicked each of the goons before grabbing his arm.

     " _ **Haere**_ _**mai**_.”

     They both ran, ducking into an alleyway right before the bullies ran past them. When they both caught their breath, the girl turned to him.

     "You okay?"

     Hiro nodded. "Yeah. What you did to those jerks was amazing!"

     The girl gave him a crooked smile, both pleased and embarrassed. Hiro noticed then she had barely visible freckles scattered across her skin, and her almond-shaped eyes were a silvery-blue; both features reminded him of stars.

     "I'm Hiro. Hiro Hamada."

     "I'm Anwyn Waialiki."

 

      _Crud_. He had been dreaming about her again.

     It had been a decade since he had last seen that girl, and even now he couldn't get her out of his mind. Yeah, they had been close, but so much had changed since then.

     Hiro pushed himself out of bed with a groan. Knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, he checked his computer monitors for updates. He slumped in his chair when he saw nothing required his immediate attention. At least for the time being.

     He pulled a flat, gold pendant out from underneath his shirt collar; no matter how many times he tried to toss the thing, he couldn't bring himself to do it. As he twirled it between his fingers, another unbidden memory played in his mind...

 

Hiro woke up in the middle of the night to see Anwyn staring out of the window, her expression sad. Since it was the weekend, Aunt Cass had said that it was okay for her to spend the night.

     "What's wrong?" Hiro asked.

     Anwyn jumped a little before relaxing. "Nothing, just feeling a bit homesick is all."

     Hiro could imagine; Anwyn was an exchange student from New Zealand.

     "I bet you miss your family."

     "Yeah, I miss them, especially my parents and brother," she hesitated, "this is going to sound silly, but I also miss seeing the stars."

     "The stars?"

     Anwyn sighed and looked back out to the sky, her tone becoming wistful. "Our home is built on a cliff overlooking the ocean. There's hardly any light pollution, so you can practically see the entire universe. And on calm, clear nights, the water reflects the stars so perfectly that you can't tell where the ocean ends and the sky begins. I see it from my bedroom window all the time; it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

     Over the next few days, Hiro researched star patterns and used the 3D printer to make a delicate charm bracelet, ignoring Tadashi's singsong  _Hiro and Anwyn Sitting in a Tree_.

 

Hiro slammed his fist on his desk as soon as _he_ came to mind. His brother had been dead for four years. Sick-minded imposters pretending to be him came around all the time trying to get him to stop his takeover of San Fransokyo (as if Yama and his gangs weren’t enough of a nuisance), and he had Baymax kill them on sight.

     The most recent Tadashi impersonator was by far the worst.

     Not only did he steal one of his friends, he looked and acted and... _felt_ the most like his brother. Hiro wasn’t fooled. After one of the other imposters left a scar on his face trying to kill him, it became clear that it was stupid to even hope. His friends were a different story, especially Honey Lemon (he couldn’t blame _her_ , since Tadashi was her late-boyfriend). They never said as much, but he knew they were more or less convinced this guy was the real thing.

     Whatever. As long as they kept their distance, he let them believe what they wanted. It was only a matter of time before the imposter tried to murder him, _then_ they would see.

     Hiro growled as he ripped the necklace off. It was _her_ fault he was thinking about Tadashi (again!). Why did he even keep wearing the stupid pendant? He only knew the girl for, what, ten months, at the most? He hadn’t gotten so much as one letter from her since she left _ten_ _years_ _ago_. She probably got rid of the bracelet he had made for her; it was high time he got rid of her trinket.

     Storming to a window, he threw it open and held the necklace at arm’s length, getting one last glimpse of it before he pitched it as far as he could. It was small and round, about the size of a quarter, and on the front was an etching of a lion’s face with it’s mane flowing to the edges of the pendant.

     As his eye caught on the lion, Hiro felt a twinge of guilt.

 

_”I made this for you. Happy birthday, Anwyn.”_

_“You_ made _this? Hiro, I love it! No boy outside my family ever did anything so nice for me! You’re the best friend I’ve ever had! Thank you thank you thank you!”_

 

_”Here, you can have this, so you don’t forget me.”_

_“I’m pretty sure I won’t forget you. Besides, you wear that all the time; I can’t take it.”_

_“Hiro, where I come from, it’s a big insult to refuse a gift.”_

_“I don’t believe you.”_

_“Wanna bet,_ **moho** _?”_

_“Fine, I’ll take your favorite necklace.”_

 

Hiro slumped to the floor. This was why he couldn’t do it. He sighed as he draped the chain around his neck and tucked it into his shirt.

     Tadashi was dead. His murderer was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t speaking to Aunt Cass. His “friends” had to have headbands that he invented to control them. He had turned San Fransokyo into hell on earth.

     Anwyn Pevensie Waialiki was the only good memory he had left.

 

_** Narnia ** _

Anwyn sat gazing up at the stars, unconsciously toying with the silver alloy bracelet around her left wrist. She had always loved the stars, only now they were permanently linked to Hiro Hamada.

     She just couldn’t fathom why he never wrote to her. They promised they would keep in touch once she returned home, and she kept her promise for almost a year.

     She talked quite a bit about Hiro to those closest to her. Her twin brother, Manu, would roll his eyes and gag or singsong about her “crush.” Her friend, Rees, would ask her why she kept sending Hiro letters if he just ignored her.

     One day she was preparing to send yet another letter when Rees was visiting. The older boy had snatched the envelope out of her hands and snapped that Hiro wasn’t good enough for her and she should just grow up and get over him. Anwyn had been furious at the time, but when she mentioned the argument to her mother, she had shockingly agreed with him.

 

      _“I think he’s right, love.”_

_“What?”_

_“I’m not saying Hiro is beneath you, I’m saying it’s time to let him go. If he hasn’t contacted you once after all this time, then perhaps he wasn’t meant to be in your life.”_

 

Anwyn had run to her room and cried at the feeling of betrayal she felt from Rees and her mother. More months passed with nothing from Hiro, and she started thinking they might’ve been right. She tearfully wrote him one last letter telling him goodbye.

     However, she couldn’t give up her bracelet. Unlike any boy or man that gave her gifts, he had been thoughtful enough to not only _make_ her something, but to base it on what she had missed about her homeland.

     Hiro had been her closest friend; she almost felt guilty for lying to him.

     “M’lady?”

     Anwyn’s thoughts were interrupted when her General addressed her.

     “Yes?”

     The Berserker cleared his throat. “Our scouts report the invaders are less than a day’s ride from us; we should overtake them by noon tomorrow.”

     Anwyn smiled. “Excellent; thank you, Erik.”

     “Your Majesty,” he replied, bowing his head in respect.

     Anwyn returned the gesture before she noticed Erik’s gaze lingering on her bracelet.

     He smiled softly. “Thinking about him again?”

     Anwyn nodded. Unlike everyone else she had told about Hiro, Erik didn’t treat her feelings like they were nothing more than childish infatuation.

     As Erik returned to camp, Anwyn cast one more glance at the stars, wondering what Hiro was up to and if he ever thought of her.

     She shook her head as she stood to catch up with her General. Being the High Queen of Narnia, she had to get some sleep if she was going to lead the attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haere mai - come on
> 
> Moho - blockhead
> 
> I have lots of random bits of plot and dialogue for this story that just need to be stringed together somehow. :-/


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I’m back.

All he needed was one part for his new invention. And of all the places in the city, it had to be in Yama’s territory. Figures.

     Normally, Hiro would send Gogo to get things. But the part was too complicated to describe. Besides, he heard Yama was throwing one of his parties up at his mansion. Hiro could just use his jet pack and make it home before anyone knew he was there.

     As Hiro soared over the city, he felt a smirk tug at his lips. He didn’t use his jet pack often, but he felt smug whenever he did. Even in San Fransokyo’s heyday, jet packs were a rarity only the superrich could afford, like Krei. And those didn’t have retractable “wings” for added balance (and to look cool). Tadashi would’ve been proud of him.

     He shook away the thought before the familiar ache could set in. He needed to focus on retrieving the part and getting the heck out of there.

     Hiro landed on the roof of what was once a computer factory and turned off his jet pack. Heading to the door, he double-checked to make sure his microbots were in his pockets and his katana and kabuki mask were secure. He slowly opened the door and descended several flights of stairs, occasionally stopping and listening for anyone else who might be in the building. It wasn’t until he emerged onto the main floor he ran into trouble.

     As soon as he heard Yama’s voice just around the corner, he ducked behind a stack of boxes.

     “You sure it was him?”

     “I saw ‘im land on the roof ten minutes ago. And ‘e was alone.”

     They knew Hiro was there. _Frick!_

     “He better be,” Yama grumbled, “I left a party to settle a score with that little shrimp.”

     Hiro suppressed a snide retort that would’ve given away his hiding place. As the voices faded, Hiro stood and started in the direction of the stairs, only to come face-to-face with one of Yama’s violent, roller-bladed prostitutes known as the Fujitas. There were three of them, and the one Hiro was faced with had knives stuck in her hair and a tessen war fan.

     She smirked. “Goin’ somewhere?”

     “Actually, I was just leaving, so, if you don’t mind...”

     He tried to sidestep her when she slashed at him with her fan. He didn’t miss a beat; his microbots flew out of his pockets just in time to block her attack. She cursed loudly, causing Yama and the other two Fujitas to run in. Hiro was so focused on dodging the first he didn’t notice the one with the spiked bat sneaking up behind him until it was too late. Her bat slammed into his jet pack, making it spark and pop. Hiro’s distraction with that was all the other Fujita needed; she struck downward at his face.

     The microbots fell to the floor alongside Hiro, and he barely registered the two Fujitas sliding back by Yama and their sister to admire their handiwork.

     Hiro was paralyzed in shock as he stared at the slashed mask, noticing it was splattered with red. He tentatively reached to his face; thankfully, he didn’t lose an eyeball, but he did have a cut running from his forehead over his right eyelid to his cheek.

     “Ow!” _Geez, that stings! Why does this keep happening?_

     His good eye caught on a flash of gold. At some point during the fight, the goon had sliced his shirt at the neck and Anwyn’s lion pendant slipped out.

     Yama’s laugh jolted him out of his thoughts.

     “Not so tough without your mask, are you, _Zero_?”

     Hiro growled in response; he hated being called that, especially by the stupid crime lord.

     Yama motioned towards him, addressing his goons. “Kill him.”

     Hiro slowly got to his feet. Baymax and his friends weren’t with him, and without the mask transmitter, his microbots were useless. He did the only thing he could do at the moment.

      _Run_.

     He sprinted through the hallways, the third Fujita hot on his heels, searching for an exit. He veered into what could’ve been a dead end, except that there was a door. 

      _Please be unlocked please be unlocked please be- YES!_

He pushed through the door and whirled to slam it in the Fujita’s face. When he bolted the door and backed away, he tripped and fell on his back. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness. As he pushed himself up and looked around, his jaw fell.

     The door, the building, and all of San Fransokyo were gone. He was in the middle of an evergreen forest.

     “What the...did I hit my head or something?”

     Maybe this was it. He had been steadily losing his mind for the past four years, and he finally cracked. This wasn’t a dream; he never dreamed about this kind of thing before. And he was certain he didn’t die and go to Heaven.

     He touched the wound over his eye. It still hurt, but at least it stopped bleeding. 

     Definitely not Heaven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that was close!
> 
> This scene was inspired by a Darkpath comic by RuneScratch on Tumblr (which, sadly, I can’t upload the link for some reason).


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!

It only took Hiro a few minutes to find a stream; he tried ducking his head under the frigid water to see if that would snap him out of whatever hallucination he was having. But the woods remained when he came up for air.

     What was _really_ weird was his eye wound. He was certain the cut was deep enough to take at least a few days (along with bandages and disinfectant) for it to heal. As he scrubbed the blood from his face, the wound was tender, but as if he got it a day ago, rather than minutes.

     He took in a deep lungful of air; after living with the air pollution in San Fransokyo for so long, the fresh, woodsy air would've been pleasant. Only when a light gust of wind blew in his face, his nose was filled with campfire smoke and a sharp, metallic smell that reminded Hiro of blood. 

     He frowned as he stood up; the strong smell of smoke and blood lingered even after the breeze had died down. Hiro might've grown up in the city, but he had a hunch that the source of those smells was close by.

     He hadn't gone far in the general direction of the wind gust when he parted some tree branches and found a clearing.

     A clearing strewn with the burnt remains of tents and dead people.

     Hiro was surprised at the lurch his stomach gave at the sight of the carnage; he thought he'd be used to it after four years.

     He gingerly stepped between the bodies as he scanned the small field. He did a double take when his gaze fell on something that was human from the waist up...and had the body of a horse.  _A centaur?_ Observing the dead bodies more closely, he saw only a handful of them were human, while the rest were a wide range of mythological creatures, from dwarves to minotaurs to people who were half-goat.

      _Hiro, you've officially gone crazy._

     A flash momentarily blinded him as he passed a muscular human with long brown dreads and a gaping stomach wound. Hiro blinked and shaded his eyes to see an oddly familiar shield reflecting the sunlight. Kneeling down next to it, he hefted the disk onto his lap, trying to decipher exactly  _what_ felt familiar about it.

     Anwyn's pendant slipped out of Hiro's torn collar, and it hit him. Taking it in one hand, he compared the lion to the one on the shield. It was an exact match.

     Before Hiro could even question it, a hand snatched his arm, making him yell and drop the shield and necklace. It was the guy with the dreads. Hiro tried to pull his arm away, but the man’s fingers were like iron, despite his injuries. He used his free hand to grab Hiro’s necklace.

     “This... where did you get it?” he snarled through bloodstained teeth.

     Hiro bit back an unmanly yelp; unlike normal people, this guy had enormous _bear_ teeth.

     “It was given to me,” he choked, hating the _slight_ waver in his voice.

     “When?”

     “Ten years ago.”

     The man’s expression softened as he released the necklace. Hiro rubbed his neck and tried to yank his arm away, but bear-tooth's hand didn't budge.

     “You are...Hiro Hamada?”

     Hiro’s eyes widened. “How did you-?”

     “Ten years ago,” he coughed as more blood filled his mouth. “Queen Anwyn...gave it to a boy... with that name.”

     Hiro’s breath caught at the mention of his childhood friend.

      _Anwyn_.

     Whoa...did this guy say Anwyn was a... a _Queen_?!

     “You have to save her!” the man urgently gasped, his grip on Hiro's arm becoming so tight Hiro was losing feeling in it.

     “Wha-?“

     “We were...ambushed... everyone killed or wounded... except Anwyn. They took her Northwest.”

     He paused to weakly point in that direction. His breathing was getting slower and shallower, and Hiro knew he was dying.

     “If...if you...ever cared for her...at all...s-save...save her...”

     With that, he fell back and died.

     Hiro's mind reeled as he pried his numb arm from the man's grasp. This was a dream. It _had_ to be a dream! He tried pinching and slapping himself in a vain attempt to make this crazy hallucination go away.

     "C'mon, Hiro, wake up!  _Wake! Up!_ "

     After a few minutes with no results, he finally groaned and fell onto his backside. He picked up his necklace again and ran his thumb over the lion's face. He thought about what the bear-toothed guy had said about Anwyn: she gave the pendant to Hiro ten years ago. She was a Queen. She had been kidnapped and needed saving.

     On one hand, Hiro wondered why he _should_ save her when she had spent the past decade ignoring him. On the other hand, the thought of her in danger...

     Maybe it was just the questionable canned ravioli he'd had for dinner, but the thought of Anwyn in danger made him feel nauseous.

     "Ugh, screw it," he sighed, pushing himself onto his feet. Maybe if he rescued her, he would wake up back in San Fransokyo. 

     He was about to start hiking in Anwyn's direction when he spotted a small leather knapsack with the initials  _A.T.P.W._ embossed on the front. It was half-filled with clothes, two small glass bottles (one with greenish liquid and the other with clear), a roll of linen gauze, and a lion-pommeled dagger.

     He figured it was safe to assume that the clothes were Anwyn's. After tossing aside his destroyed jetpack and filling the rest of the knapsack with scraps of scavenged food and what he hoped was a leather water bottle, he slung it onto his back and began his trek Northwest.

     "Anwyn, you better be alive," he grumbled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> Warning: this chapter contains torture references, mentions of rape, some harassment, and a bunch of monsters being sadistic creeps (nothing overly graphic, though. I promise). There might be some trigger warnings, so proceed with caution.
> 
> Also, if any of my family is reading this story, I am so sorry.

The party had stopped for a quick rest. The course ropes grazed uncomfortably against her wrists and neck, and she cursed herself for not expecting an ambush on her camp. She didn't know why they had abducted her. These monsters were usually known for killing humans and Narnians on sight.

      _Maybe they want to torture me to death_.

     Anwyn quickly shook off the thought; if it would come to that, she wouldn't waste her last days dwelling on it.

     She looked around at her captors. There were a few different species of monsters - such as the werewolf holding the end of the long rope around her neck. An incubus (who would’ve been divinely handsome if it weren’t for the claws and bat-like wings jutting out of his back) approached her with a lurid grin. He took the rope from her guard, twisting it around his clawed hand and yanking her to him. Anwyn choked as the incubus forced her chin upward to look into his dazzling face.

     “What a pretty little thing you are,” he said patronizingly, “I can see why suitors flock to your castle only for you to reject them. Too bad we have to ruin that prettiness."

     So, they  _did_ plan to torture her. Feeling a spark of anger, she whipped her chin out of his grasp and snapped her teeth at his fingers.

     He pulled his hand away with a smirk. "Feisty thing, huh? Good; human girls are no fun if they don't have any fight in 'em."

     His gaze was slowly raking over her body in a way that was all too familiar to Anwyn.

     _Oh, Aslan..._

     She steeled her expression into cold defiance, though her hands still shook with fear. She would much rather face the most sadistic and painful of torture devices than have anyone (least of all these evil demons) try to violate her. 

     The monster must have seen her trembling hands, because he licked his lips, stroking a claw along the neckline of her shirt. Anwyn's brave front slipped for a moment and she gasped and leapt back.

     Her vision turned red with rage. "How  _dare_ you touch me?!"

     With renewed boldness, she placed a well aimed kick right below his belt. The incubus doubled over in pain; Anwyn used the opportunity to pull the rope out of his grasp and run. It was a stupid idea, since she was practically surrounded by monsters, but desperation sometimes makes people do dumb things. Besides, she had never gone down without a fight in the past. She would not start now.

     She had managed to hit the werewolf with her bound fists and attack a cyclops with a move Tadashi had taught her called a 'roundhouse kick' when the incubus grabbed the rope to bring her flush against his body. 

     "I want her first!" he cackled to his peers as he lifted her bodily off the ground.

     Anwyn thrashed with all her might and cursed in a mishmash of Maori and English. " _Let go of me! LET GO!_ " 

     Her struggling only seemed to encourage the incubus as he shoved his face against her neck and obscenely inhaled the scent of her skin.

     " _THAT'S ENOUGH, YOU CUR!_ "

     The incubus immediately dropped Anwyn, though he still held the rope. She was shaking like a leaf now as she blinked tears from her eyes. _Don't cry! Whatever you do, do not let these creatures see you cry!_

     As her vision cleared, she saw what had spoken: an ogre as large as her Grandfather Maui, nearly twice the size of the incubus. Anwyn remembered having the misfortune of crossing paths with this particular ogre when she was thirteen. He sneered down at Anwyn.

     "We don't have time for this," he continued, though he never took his eyes off Anwyn. "The Narnians must know by now that their precious Queen isn't among their dead; they'll be on our trail before we reach the fortress!" His mouth curled into a cruel grin. "When we get there, I plan to wrap her severed head in rags and send it back to her family."

     The incubus was clearly not pleased with this. When the ogre noticed its scowl, he rolled his eyes and grabbed a whip from his belt.

     "If you want to have some sport with her," he growled as he shoved the whip into the other's free hand, "make her walk faster!"

     The incubus grinned with wicked glee. Anwyn looked down to hide her fright, her gaze catching on Hiro's bracelet. It was a miracle that they didn't even notice it, much less take it away from her.

     The ogre gave an order for the party to get moving, and the incubus whistled and tugged at the rope as if Anwyn were nothing more than a dog on a leash. She ignored it; at the moment, being treated like an animal was the least of her worries.

      _Aslan, please help me. Please send some kind of help..._

     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiro better get to Anwyn FAST!
> 
> This work was originally rated T, but after rereading and rewriting several scenes, I think it's more along the M-rating lines. I swear, it won't get too graphic.
> 
> And I know that this story doesn't have a lot of kudos so far, but for those of you that did kudos this story/series, I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate it. I hope the change in rating doesn't chase you off. And feel free to leave feedback. I love feedback.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter has more possible trigger warnings...and a tiny bit of fluff to balance it out ;-)

They traveled for nearly two days, and Anwyn was exhausted. She wanted to sleep each time they stopped for a few moments of rest, but she was too afraid of the incubus and his whip. Besides, her back throbbed with so much pain that it would've been a miracle for her to get any sleep at all.

     At last, the leader said that they should make camp for the night. After the tents were set up, Anwyn was dragged into one of them and tied to the supporting pole, so if she tried to escape, the tent would come down and alert her captors. Much to her chagrin, they left the ropes around her neck and wrists before leaving her.

     Trying to ignore the wood pressed against her sore back, Anwyn guessed that they were about a week's journey from Cair Paravel, give or take. Someone should've found what remained of her camp by now. She hoped and prayed that whoever did wasn't far from where they were; although she was grateful that the ogre wouldn't let the incubus have his way with her, she didn't fancy being decapitated either.

     However, the ogre had also leered at her when the incubus wasn't looking.

     Anwyn shuddered at the thought of a monster entering the tent and doing unspeakable things to her. She tried to stay awake, but sheer exhaustion won out in the end as she fell into a deep sleep.

 

_Anwyn sat outside the Lucky Cat Café with Hiro, waiting for the car that would take her to the "airport" (it would really take her to a place with a chasm that would take her back to Narnia)._

_As they promised to stay in touch, she toyed with the bracelet that Hiro gave her for her eighth birthday. In the months since then, it had become her prized possession. Now that their time together was running out, she_ _felt like an idiot for not getting_ him _some kind of meaningful gift. The only thing she could give him was..._

     _"Hey, Hiro?"_

     _"Yeah?"_

     _Anwyn removed the gold pendant and held it out to her best friend._

     _"Here,_ _you can have this, so you don't forget me."_

_"I'm pretty sure I won't forget you," Hiro said with a smile, "Besides, you wear that all the time; I can't take it."_

_Anwyn thought it was sweet that Hiro didn't think he'd forget her. Still, she wanted him to have the necklace._

_"Hiro, where I come from, it's a big insult to refuse a gift."_

_It wasn't a_ total _lie;_ _it was considered disrespectful, sure, but not as much as she was implying._

_"I don't believe you."_

_"Wanna bet,_ **moho** _?"_

 _When she had first told him what_ **moho** _meant, he had initially been offended, up until she explained that word was considered a term of endearment in her family._

_"Fine, I'll take your favorite necklace."_

_Anwyn beamed as he took the chain from her and slipped it over his head. It was a very special necklace - it had belonged to her great-uncle, High King Peter - and since Hiro was special to her, she thought it made perfect sense to give it to him._

_Tadashi and Aunt Cass joined them outside as a black car stopped and the driver (who Anwyn recognized from Motunui) took Anwyn's suitcase. She hugged Aunt Cass and Tadashi goodbye; she had come to think of them as family. But she hesitated as she hugged Hiro._

_It wasn't just that she didn't want to say goodbye to him, or the possibility that she might never see him again. She had had a crush on him for quite some time now, and even if he didn't feel the same way about her, she wanted him to know._

_So as she pulled out of the hug, she gave him one last gift on a whim: a quick, innocent peck on the cheek._

_She mumbled one last goodbye before hopping into the car as fast as she could, not daring to look at Hiro's reaction._

 

As the dream faded, Anwyn wondered again if that was the reason why Hiro never wrote to her.

 

She woke up with a start when she felt the ropes around her body being loosened. Anwyn nearly sobbed in relief. She was finally being saved! As the ropes fell to the ground, she sprinted away from the pole, only for her rescuer's hand to snatch the rope still around her neck. 

     Anwyn gasped in confusion. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, her heart sank that she wasn't being rescued at all. The incubus tugged her closer to him.

     "If you scream, I'll slit your throat," he whispered seductively, as if his statement was meant to be romantic. Anwyn's blood ran cold at his tone and threat, but she decided it was best not to scream.

     The incubus' gaze travelled up and down Anwyn's body, not bothering to hide his lust. His eyes, which had been pitch black in the daylight, now glowed a demonic red. He leaned closer to her with a mischievous grin, like they were playing a game.

     "I'm curious: out of all your conquests, which one pleased you the most?"

     Despite her terror and disgust, rage caused Anwyn's blood to boil. 

     "I don't have  _conquests_!" she spat the word like it was poison. It was the truth; there _were_ rumors of her having lovers, only all of them were started by her enemies, and not a single one was true.

     "You're a liar as well as a whore," the incubus chuckled, pointing a claw at Hiro's bracelet. "I know a lover's token when I see one."

     "I was a _child_ when that was given to me!" Anwyn protested, though she still blushed.

     The incubus ignored her. "No matter; I know who will have you next, and it won't be that fool of an ogre that wants you all to himself."

     He continued to grin as he lifted Anwyn off the ground by the noose, making her choke and gag.

     "But before I take you, I want to see you broken."

     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moho - blockhead
> 
> Please don't hate me for that kiss child-Anwyn gave child-Hiro. I know that some people can blow something like that completely out of proportion. Like I said, it was just a quick, innocent peck on the cheek; it's not like they were making out.
> 
> Also, I just want to say that I do NOT think that violence and rape are hot; there's a reason why the bad guy is behaving like it is.
> 
> Thoughts on the story so far?


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